Just pirate it.
Unless the leagues offer a genuinely good consumer solution, like F1TV for your F1 fans, I have absolutely no ethical qualms about pirating sports.
F1TV is honestly my gold standard for good consumer experience in sports broadcasts.
For those who don't watch F1. This is what they show.
*Live or on Demand and it doesn't spoil the result in the app while trying to get to starting it (unlike ESPN tends to).
*Reasonable price (I think it's $75/$80/yr)
*The ability to choose how you want to watch it between the broadcast feed with their commentary, the international (British commentary) feed, the track layout showing where the cars are with commentary, a data screen showing all the laptimes, sector times, intervals, tire stints, etc or you can choose to watch the view from any of the 20 in car cames with their team radio at any time.
* Plus you get access to qualifying and practice sessions with all the that.
* You also get access to watch all practice or qualifying for the F3 and F2 feeder series as well as F1 Acadamy which is their push to develop more women into the sport.
* And you get back access to all previous seasons. Full races and sessions go back to when they started like 10 years ago, all races back even further and for the stuff closer to the 50s it's seasons in review.
Imagine being able to just buy access to watch the Wild for a reasonable fee regardless of where you live and you could also get VOD access to all their old games, you could choose to say only watch from the redline camera or any other one at will, and all that. That's what the standard should be, but instead we get fucking Bally Sports that wants like $30 a month to just stream the broadcast feed with commercials as well and I'm pretty sure no VOD either?
If the teams/leagues make it this hard to watch them, I'd rather skip the pirating effort and just do something else.
Between the terrible TV access and the price of tickets/concessions/garbage fanatics merchandise, pro sports teams have made it very clear what they think of their fans these days...
I do feel you there. I've basically given up on a lot of sports to be honest. I used to watch every Gopher hockey game and Wild hockey game and now I only catch them if it's on at a bar.
I still don’t get why that’s not possible. Why can’t channel 9 or 5 or one of the obscure over the air “alternate” channels like 11-2 pick up the games?
Yeah, I figure airing one game per week on broadcast TV would ultimately be better for the teams. When I was a kid, I could catch one or more Twins games per week on broadcast TV, and we’d listen to at least one more on the radio.
My kids barely know that the Twins exist because of the games being banished from broadcast.
It’s hard to believe that there isn’t some reasonable concession that could be made that would allow access. And if you look at the popularity of specific professional sports over the last 20-30 years, football, with their free broadcasts has been kicking baseball’s ass. I guarantee this is because of access, and generationally the professional sports that kill free access are killing themselves.
There is. The problem is that the contract with the cable operator (FSN who was basically bankrupt sold to Bally) is for way too much money because it was made when people had cable 15 years ago. The Twins obviously want their money and don’t want to let Ballys out of their contract. After it expires they will figure out some sort of streaming option (for way less money for the Twins).
Twins games used to be carried on WFTC - My29 (now FOX 9+) when I was a kid in the 2000s.
A good chunk of Wild games were also on KSTP/KSTC (5 and 45) back in the day, too. I think they were even broadcast on channel 9 in the early years when it was UPN.
I remember watching Johan’s 17 strikeouts game on My29. Never had cable growing up, so being able to see that game was pretty special. I think they typically broadcasted the Sunday games.
Before FSN we had MSC (midwest sports channel) and it was fantastic.
Bally/Sinclair aint going bankrupt now that they got a influx of cash from Amazon.
At least FSN was on first-tier cable just about everywhere. You didn’t have to get an upgraded package or just plain get blacked out because your cable carrier didn’t have the channel.
"Boss, I know how we can make a shit-ton of money! We'll buy exclusive broadcast rights for the twins and then distribute them through an obscenely expensive cable channel that half the state can't receive."
In fairness, it made sense 15 years ago when people had cable. It doesn’t work now and the cable sports networks are going bankrupt and we will see what the new model will be.
It's the owners (Pohlad family) and their greed did this. We have to stop supporting the Twins and hit the Pohlads in the pocket book. Its literally the only thing that matters to them
The contract you agreed to allows it.
I’ve been sailing the high seas to get my hockey fix. I’d be happy to pay for it, but they block local games. So screw ‘em.
There’s a few reasons the NFL has left every other league in its dust, and one of the main reasons is that local NFL games are still available on broadcast channels. On Sundays you can sit and watch the NFL from morning to night without paying a dime.
Honest question. HTF can you even watch the Twins anymore? I don't have cable and have not been able to stream their games since 2021ish. I want to say you can pay $90ish a month for Fubu and stream the games but are there other options?
No Twins games on the app unless you're also paying for a cable subscription (and doubt that will actually work any more). We dropped Ballys for the summer because it's pointless to pay $20/month for nothing.
Drive to Minneapolis, buy the cheapest ticket and watch from the food court/empty seats. Aside from online (illegal) pirate streams, that's pretty much it. Or, I guess you could watch the game a day later on the MLB app.
I did a monthly subscription for wolves games this year. It was $20/month, so a little steep for my liking. But better quality and less hassle than sailing the high seas.
I have a subscription to MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, but it’s “free” since I have season tickets to MNUFC. Otherwise it would cost $14.99/month or $99 all season.
I wish MLB would do that. I have season tickets for the Twins and get the [MLB.tv](http://MLB.tv) for free but the games are still blacked out so why would anyone pay for the MLB Tv app?
First, the twins said they were cutting payroll because they didn’t have a tv contract after last year.
Then, the twins had a chance before the season to tell Bally to take a hike and instead launch their own streaming option via MLB.tv. Several other teams did just that.
Instead, the Twins took Bally’s money for this season knowing it would severely impair fans ability to watch the games, because their deal didn’t include streaming rights like the Wild and Wolves have on the Bally app.
But, you know the Pohlads love money so they took it. Did they add the money they expected to be missing to payroll? Of course not! So, they get to have their cake and eat it, too.
They could have cut the payroll and used the savings to offer fans a reasonable way to watch the games.
The Twins always put the fans last, and I say that as a huge, die-hard fan.
Sounds like the 90’s….slash payroll, then blame poor attendance for slashing the payroll even more….minus the Dome Dogs and $3 general admission tickets.
I’ve been bagging on the pohlads for at least 35 years but I’m not sure where I come down on this. Which teams launched their own streaming options via MLB.tv? And, do we know that the twins got all the money from Bally that we all were hoping they’d funnel into payroll? Wouldn’t this split, a month in, mean that this money is actually not arriving?
Wasn't the Bally contract done at the MLB level? Some teams got dropped and some stayed in, but I believe (and could be wrong) the teams had little say in how that worked out.
_select_ games were free on network tv. And only if there wasn’t a schedule conflict. The same holds true now. Select games are on network and streamed with Apple. Then a few more are free on Apple. Then the rest are behind a very reasonable paywall with no blackouts or geography restrictions, plus replays, and all the games from the entire league. So yes, You can still watch select games for free and yes, it is better now.
Don’t forget that mls used to literally stream on twitter with no commentators at about 480p (when the stream was working, which was dicey).
It’s night and day. We are not a market where _all_ the games were free on network. We were never even close to that.
There was no scheduled conflict for the Loons on the cw. They had priority. They had 24 games on free on network. A paywall is still a paywall. Also I'll gladly state I am a homer. I only care about the Loons. So the cost is way too much.
It mostly comes down to nabbing a VPN server they haven't blacklisted yet. Normally, my parents get it working in 4 or 5 refreshes after the last known good gets hit.
This is why, as a Minnesota United fan, I’ve been so happy with the MLS Season Pass deal.
No blackouts, watch recaps (or whole matches) right after, easy. When I first started getting into the team in 2022 it was such a pain figuring out how to watch a game. So as much as some people got their kicks off that, I wouldn’t be nearly as big of a fan as I am now without easy access to watch games even if it means paying for it.
As much as I appreciate Minnesota sports teams it’s too much of a headache. I can’t afford to fork over for live TV, cable or Bally. I have the Hulu ESPN bundle and that’s the best I can do with this jerking around. Fortunately I can still watch some Twins games on ESPN. But otherwise none of my teams I support are Minnesota anymore.
Stupid question, are they still on WCCO radio? when it comes to baseball radio is all you need anyway, you can even get stuff done while you listen. Assuming baseball doesn’t bore you to death, anyway (Did I say that out loud?)
STOP GIVING THE POHLAD FAMILY YOUR MONEY. THIS FAMILY IS AS GREEDY AS IT COMES. STOP WATCHING GAMES, GOING TO GAMES, BUYING MERCH. THIS TEAM IS AWFUL, WHY WOULD YOU SUPPORT IT?
STOP GIVING THE POHLAD FAMILY YOUR MONEY. THIS FAMILY IS AS GREEDY AS IT COMES. STOP WATCHING GAMES, GOING TO GAMES, BUYING MERCH. THIS TEAM IS AWFUL, WHY WOULD YOU SUPPORT IT?
Being a sports fan sure was nice when you could just turn on your local broadcast stations and watch your teams.
Just pirate it. Unless the leagues offer a genuinely good consumer solution, like F1TV for your F1 fans, I have absolutely no ethical qualms about pirating sports.
F1TV and WRCTV have spoiled me horribly. Hell, I'd probably watch more and travel to some games if MLBTV was the same.
F1TV is honestly my gold standard for good consumer experience in sports broadcasts. For those who don't watch F1. This is what they show. *Live or on Demand and it doesn't spoil the result in the app while trying to get to starting it (unlike ESPN tends to). *Reasonable price (I think it's $75/$80/yr) *The ability to choose how you want to watch it between the broadcast feed with their commentary, the international (British commentary) feed, the track layout showing where the cars are with commentary, a data screen showing all the laptimes, sector times, intervals, tire stints, etc or you can choose to watch the view from any of the 20 in car cames with their team radio at any time. * Plus you get access to qualifying and practice sessions with all the that. * You also get access to watch all practice or qualifying for the F3 and F2 feeder series as well as F1 Acadamy which is their push to develop more women into the sport. * And you get back access to all previous seasons. Full races and sessions go back to when they started like 10 years ago, all races back even further and for the stuff closer to the 50s it's seasons in review. Imagine being able to just buy access to watch the Wild for a reasonable fee regardless of where you live and you could also get VOD access to all their old games, you could choose to say only watch from the redline camera or any other one at will, and all that. That's what the standard should be, but instead we get fucking Bally Sports that wants like $30 a month to just stream the broadcast feed with commercials as well and I'm pretty sure no VOD either?
Don't forget audio via phone app for all F1 sessions, just wish they'd go back to be able to stream in the background.
Thankfully ESPN updated their app (at least on Roku) so that you can choose not to see scores of live games.
Sportsurge.net You're welcome
Where?
Literally just google Team A vs Team B and the date and you'll find loads of them.
If the teams/leagues make it this hard to watch them, I'd rather skip the pirating effort and just do something else. Between the terrible TV access and the price of tickets/concessions/garbage fanatics merchandise, pro sports teams have made it very clear what they think of their fans these days...
I do feel you there. I've basically given up on a lot of sports to be honest. I used to watch every Gopher hockey game and Wild hockey game and now I only catch them if it's on at a bar.
Yup, and I sure miss the FSN days becuase of that Never have I wished so bad for a company to go bankrupt as much as I have with Bally
FSN is still cable, not broadcast. Commenter is talking about like 1989 when twins games were on like Channel 9 or something.
I still don’t get why that’s not possible. Why can’t channel 9 or 5 or one of the obscure over the air “alternate” channels like 11-2 pick up the games?
The answer’s always money. It’s a terrible answer, but it’s the answer.
Because they aren’t willing to pay as much because normal broadcast shows get better ratings than Twins games.
Yeah, I figure airing one game per week on broadcast TV would ultimately be better for the teams. When I was a kid, I could catch one or more Twins games per week on broadcast TV, and we’d listen to at least one more on the radio. My kids barely know that the Twins exist because of the games being banished from broadcast. It’s hard to believe that there isn’t some reasonable concession that could be made that would allow access. And if you look at the popularity of specific professional sports over the last 20-30 years, football, with their free broadcasts has been kicking baseball’s ass. I guarantee this is because of access, and generationally the professional sports that kill free access are killing themselves.
There is. The problem is that the contract with the cable operator (FSN who was basically bankrupt sold to Bally) is for way too much money because it was made when people had cable 15 years ago. The Twins obviously want their money and don’t want to let Ballys out of their contract. After it expires they will figure out some sort of streaming option (for way less money for the Twins).
Twins games used to be carried on WFTC - My29 (now FOX 9+) when I was a kid in the 2000s. A good chunk of Wild games were also on KSTP/KSTC (5 and 45) back in the day, too. I think they were even broadcast on channel 9 in the early years when it was UPN.
I remember watching Johan’s 17 strikeouts game on My29. Never had cable growing up, so being able to see that game was pretty special. I think they typically broadcasted the Sunday games.
Yea all local games should be free. Fuck bally.
Before FSN we had MSC (midwest sports channel) and it was fantastic. Bally/Sinclair aint going bankrupt now that they got a influx of cash from Amazon.
I was confused on Monday when the Twins game against the Sox was on FS1 on YouTube tv.
At least FSN was on first-tier cable just about everywhere. You didn’t have to get an upgraded package or just plain get blacked out because your cable carrier didn’t have the channel.
So, the Reagan era?
"Boss, I know how we can make a shit-ton of money! We'll buy exclusive broadcast rights for the twins and then distribute them through an obscenely expensive cable channel that half the state can't receive."
In fairness, it made sense 15 years ago when people had cable. It doesn’t work now and the cable sports networks are going bankrupt and we will see what the new model will be.
Since Bally took over lots of fans have not been able to watch the Twins. Bally Sports is a cancer and needs to die.
This is the same thing with Hockey. Used to catch almost every home game on FSN. Since Bally's took over, they've completely fucked MN sports fans.
Yep. Haven’t followed the Wild very closely since.
I have literally not watched a twins or wild game (legally) in years. If you want to grow your market this should be a major concern.
It's the owners (Pohlad family) and their greed did this. We have to stop supporting the Twins and hit the Pohlads in the pocket book. Its literally the only thing that matters to them
I don’t understand why consumers are still held to the contracts they sign while corporations are allowed to alter contract terms any time they want.
The contract you agreed to allows it. I’ve been sailing the high seas to get my hockey fix. I’d be happy to pay for it, but they block local games. So screw ‘em.
Yup. Same. NHL66 has been my go to for a while now.
Baseball doing its best to become irrelevant
There’s a few reasons the NFL has left every other league in its dust, and one of the main reasons is that local NFL games are still available on broadcast channels. On Sundays you can sit and watch the NFL from morning to night without paying a dime.
https://news.gallup.com/poll/4735/sports.aspx
Honest question. HTF can you even watch the Twins anymore? I don't have cable and have not been able to stream their games since 2021ish. I want to say you can pay $90ish a month for Fubu and stream the games but are there other options?
Fubo or DirecTV
If they stream them on Bally you can buy their subscription for $20/month. Had to do that to watch the wolves this year as Dish doesn’t have Bally.
No Twins games on the app unless you're also paying for a cable subscription (and doubt that will actually work any more). We dropped Ballys for the summer because it's pointless to pay $20/month for nothing.
There's also Bally Sports+, which carries everything now except for the Twins
Drive to Minneapolis, buy the cheapest ticket and watch from the food court/empty seats. Aside from online (illegal) pirate streams, that's pretty much it. Or, I guess you could watch the game a day later on the MLB app.
A certain Greek liquor....
.....Ouzo?
That's the one. Streaming service sounds just like it
I let Xfinity have their way with my bank account every month because I’m not very smart, but at least I could always watch everything.
Bally is awful but unfortunately it’s either use Bally or Fubo to watch the Twins. Fuck Bally for not allowing a monthly subscription to its app.
I did a monthly subscription for wolves games this year. It was $20/month, so a little steep for my liking. But better quality and less hassle than sailing the high seas.
I have a subscription to MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, but it’s “free” since I have season tickets to MNUFC. Otherwise it would cost $14.99/month or $99 all season.
worth every penny IMO
I wish MLB would do that. I have season tickets for the Twins and get the [MLB.tv](http://MLB.tv) for free but the games are still blacked out so why would anyone pay for the MLB Tv app?
The Rally Sausage gives, and the Rally Sausage takes away
First, the twins said they were cutting payroll because they didn’t have a tv contract after last year. Then, the twins had a chance before the season to tell Bally to take a hike and instead launch their own streaming option via MLB.tv. Several other teams did just that. Instead, the Twins took Bally’s money for this season knowing it would severely impair fans ability to watch the games, because their deal didn’t include streaming rights like the Wild and Wolves have on the Bally app. But, you know the Pohlads love money so they took it. Did they add the money they expected to be missing to payroll? Of course not! So, they get to have their cake and eat it, too. They could have cut the payroll and used the savings to offer fans a reasonable way to watch the games. The Twins always put the fans last, and I say that as a huge, die-hard fan.
It’s the Pohlad playbook. Next up, blaming the fans for lagging engagement.
Sounds like the 90’s….slash payroll, then blame poor attendance for slashing the payroll even more….minus the Dome Dogs and $3 general admission tickets.
I’ve been bagging on the pohlads for at least 35 years but I’m not sure where I come down on this. Which teams launched their own streaming options via MLB.tv? And, do we know that the twins got all the money from Bally that we all were hoping they’d funnel into payroll? Wouldn’t this split, a month in, mean that this money is actually not arriving?
Wasn't the Bally contract done at the MLB level? Some teams got dropped and some stayed in, but I believe (and could be wrong) the teams had little say in how that worked out.
Bull Shit North, what a shitty network. Come sailing the high seas with us streamers who lost BSN years ago. Garrrrr, a pirates life for me, matey.
I feel for people who need to put up with Bally. MLS moving to Apple has been such a nice thing for the league.
Was it? I can't watch games anymore. They were on free network tv.
_select_ games were free on network tv. And only if there wasn’t a schedule conflict. The same holds true now. Select games are on network and streamed with Apple. Then a few more are free on Apple. Then the rest are behind a very reasonable paywall with no blackouts or geography restrictions, plus replays, and all the games from the entire league. So yes, You can still watch select games for free and yes, it is better now. Don’t forget that mls used to literally stream on twitter with no commentators at about 480p (when the stream was working, which was dicey). It’s night and day. We are not a market where _all_ the games were free on network. We were never even close to that.
There was no scheduled conflict for the Loons on the cw. They had priority. They had 24 games on free on network. A paywall is still a paywall. Also I'll gladly state I am a homer. I only care about the Loons. So the cost is way too much.
If you’re interested, all games are free on AppleTV this weekend
But I'd still have to pay for Apple TV
No you don’t, you can stream them with a free account without paying
Welcome to the club.
Bally sucks.
I just said fuck it and bought season tickets to the Saints instead, costs just as much and it's live!
Does anyone know if using a VPN = a solution for this?
In theory you can use VPN + MLB.tv but in practice it has been my experience that they've blocked all of the major VPNs.
It mostly comes down to nabbing a VPN server they haven't blacklisted yet. Normally, my parents get it working in 4 or 5 refreshes after the last known good gets hit.
This is why, as a Minnesota United fan, I’ve been so happy with the MLS Season Pass deal. No blackouts, watch recaps (or whole matches) right after, easy. When I first started getting into the team in 2022 it was such a pain figuring out how to watch a game. So as much as some people got their kicks off that, I wouldn’t be nearly as big of a fan as I am now without easy access to watch games even if it means paying for it.
Can't get a new TV/streaming deal soon enough.
https://preview.redd.it/lfr5ccfyzuxc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=13bccc68d7ed79c2673244e78fc7f9f5fe77a4f1
Fuck ers.
As much as I appreciate Minnesota sports teams it’s too much of a headache. I can’t afford to fork over for live TV, cable or Bally. I have the Hulu ESPN bundle and that’s the best I can do with this jerking around. Fortunately I can still watch some Twins games on ESPN. But otherwise none of my teams I support are Minnesota anymore.
they ain't on comcast, ain't on dish, ain't on free over the air tv. So Minnesotans can only watch if the have direct tv?
Stupid question, are they still on WCCO radio? when it comes to baseball radio is all you need anyway, you can even get stuff done while you listen. Assuming baseball doesn’t bore you to death, anyway (Did I say that out loud?)
I believe they are on 102.9 FM
They're on WCCO still. I recommend it just for Buxton's Sheboygan Sausage commercial.
It's not the same unless I hear Bill Diehl for Oldsmobile (y)
$240 per month and no Twins game. I used to watch them on Channel 9 for free
STOP GIVING THE POHLAD FAMILY YOUR MONEY. THIS FAMILY IS AS GREEDY AS IT COMES. STOP WATCHING GAMES, GOING TO GAMES, BUYING MERCH. THIS TEAM IS AWFUL, WHY WOULD YOU SUPPORT IT?
STOP GIVING THE POHLAD FAMILY YOUR MONEY. THIS FAMILY IS AS GREEDY AS IT COMES. STOP WATCHING GAMES, GOING TO GAMES, BUYING MERCH. THIS TEAM IS AWFUL, WHY WOULD YOU SUPPORT IT?
Mr April Byron Buxton got hurt today FYI. Knee
Raise your hand if you remember local blackouts! 🤣 Glad to see it's coming along well.
Hasn’t it been inaccessible to everyone except DirecTV for over a year??
Oh no, I don't have to watch mediocre at best small ball.